Blue Cross Blue Shield

Alabama	Delaware	Kansas	North Carolina
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CareFirst	Independence	New Mexico	Wellmark

Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Insurance

The carrier represents the nation's oldest and largest family of health insurance carriers with 40 independent locally operated subsidiaries. They provide healthcare coverage for 100 million people in America. With over 80 years of experience their brand name is the most recognized in the industry.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Enrollment

More than 90 percent of hospitals and 80 percent of physicians contract with BCBS companies. The current enrollment as of 2010 is

72.3 million members enrolled in PPO plans

10.8 million members enrolled in traditional programs

14.5 million members enrolled in HMO plans

4.8 million members enrolled in point of service (POS) products

Blue Cross Blue Shield Early History

Employers wanted to provide medical care for their workers and made arrangements with physicians, who were paid a monthly fee for their services. These contracts led to the creation of medical service bureaus composed of groups of physicians. The first was organized by Pierce County physicians in 1917. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association was created in 1982 and is the result of one of the largest health care mergers in history .

1929

The prototype prepaid hospital plan upon which BCBS Plans were later based is created at Baylor University in Dallas, Texas, established by Justin Ford Kimball. In just 10 years, enrollment in Blue health Plans will grow from just more than 1,300 covered lives to 3 million.

1932

The National Labor Relations Act, requiring management to bargain with labor over "wages and conditions" is enacted and will become a catalyst for employer-based health benefits.

1933

On December 27, 1933, America's first "Blue Cross Baby" was born in Durham, North Carolina. The entire cost of her delivery and her mother's 10-day hospital stay totaled $60. Mrs. Reid's birth was the first in America to be covered by a health insurance family certificate that included maternity benefits.

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Blue Cross Blue Shield